The Iron Giant

Voices of: Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick, Jr., Eli Marienthal, James Gammon, Vin Diesel, Cloris Leachman, Christopher McDonald, John Mahoney, E. Emmet Walsh
Directed by: Brad Bird
Rating: PG
Genre: Animated, Adventure, Science Fiction
1999

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A young boy (Eli Marienthal) discovers a giant iron man (Vin Diesel) in the Maine woods and the two quickly become friends. However, when a government agent (Christopher McDonald) catches wind of the presence of a giant alien robot, he threatens to bring in the army and destroy the creature.

Review:

Tim: The Iron Giant is a movie that transcends its animated genre, and is hands-down a good movie. The hand-drawn animation brings us back to an earlier time, and in many ways is truly beautiful. This is an impressive movie to look at. It also assembles a fairly impressive voice cast and tells an interesting, unforgettable, powerful story. Yes, the movie could have been more effective, but it works exactly as it is.

What I love about this movie is that it is really about so much more than simply the friendship between an alien robot and a young boy. It is really about good and evil, and our free will to choose one or the other. I loved the story, specifically about the iron giant. Brilliantly, we never learn the origin of the robot. It can be assumed he is from outer space, but we don't know where or why. We also have to question his intentions and his motives. Is he a gentle giant, or a monstrous menace sent to bring destruction and death to Earthlings? This is truly fascinating, and I loved watching the movie in this regard.

The biggest problem with this film is that it too often strays into the over-the-top territory. Of course, the United States army is cast as the villains here, specifically, though, one governmental agent. I thought this was played up way too much. The government is an easy antagonist, and I believe this movie missed out by creating such a one-dimensional easy target. In many respects, this film expertly embraces the grey areas- between the black and the white- but the story's villain doesn't have nearly enough of this nebulous quality.

The voice cast is quite good. Jennifer Aniston does a good job, and her voice is unrecognizable enough that you don't spend the whole movie thinking, "Wow, that's Jennifer Aniston's voice!" Harry Connick, Jr., Cloris Leachman, Christopher McDonald (especially), John Mahoney, and M. Emmet Walsh all add in good performances as well. I also really loved the casting of Vin Diesel to voice the Iron Giant. Diesel's voice is incredibly remarkable and recognizable, but it is difficult to trace the voice back to him. I thought he did a very good job of bringing the Iron Giant to life.

The reason that this movie works is because it resists many of the cheap, easy outs for an animated movie. We don't have any talking animals, catchy songs, or hilarious jokes meant for adults. What we do have is an entertaining, powerful story that works in any medium. The animation is very often amazing to see, especially the scenes of the iron giant towering over the Maine countryside. There are a few moments which are truly, undeniably beautiful. The film does have a few very funny moments, but none are those winking-at-the-audience moments that are so prevalent in animated movies today. The fact that this movie restrained itself in this aspect is impressive.

The Iron Giant is not a perfect movie, but it is a good one. It represents one of the heights of the animated genre- where the animation comes second to character and story. While I wish the movie had a bit more meat on its bones, it is still an impressive movie. The film's ending is a bit too heartwarming and convenient. I would have liked to see a more realistic but sadder ending. Still, this is a movie that does enough right to weather the storms of subsequent years and emerge as one of those movies that defies time and remains as powerful today as it did when first released.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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